rootstock
fact sheet
Rough lemon
Origin
Rough lemon originated in the Himalayan foothills in India
and has been used as a rootstock for citrus in Australia for
more than one hundred years. It was most widely used in
Australia in the first half of the 20th Century. A wide range
of Rough lemon selections exist and the most commonly
used selection in Australia is the McKillop selection
Tolerance to environmental and soil conditions
Trees on Rough lemon are highly drought tolerant.
Production of an extensive root system enables trees on
Rough lemon to forage effectively for soil nutrients. Rough
lemon also has some tolerance to alkaline soils and
moderate tolerance to salinity. Rough lemon is a suitable
rootstock for sandy, well drained soils.
Pest and disease
Rough lemon is highly sensitive to Phytophthora and
should only be used for plantings where citrus has not
been planted previously. Trees on Rough lemon are also
sensitive to citrus nematodes. Tolerant of citrus tristeza
virus and exocortis. Rough lemon rootstocks are highly
susceptible to lemon scab under high rainfall coastal
conditions. Infected nursery trees on Rough lemon may be
a source for transmission of lemon scab to existing
orchards.
Field performance
Rough lemon is a highly vigorous rootstock and shows
good yield performance in early years. Rough lemon
produces large trees with a large well developed root
system. Trees older than fifteen years often suffer from
alternate bearing and declining yields. Trees on Rough
lemon often decline rapidly after twenty years due to poor
tree health.
Nursery performance
Rough lemon is the quickest growing of all common
rootstocks. It is also the easiest rootstock to propagate
and has the longest propagation season. Due to their high
vigour, nursery trees on Rough lemon have a high
nutritional requirement. Nursery stocks are susceptible to
citrus leafminer damage.
Fruit quality
Trees on Rough lemon produce fruit with poor internal
quality due to low soluble solids and acid content. Rough
lemon produces the earliest maturity of all common
rootstocks due to the low fruit acidity. Juice content is also
low and fruit from trees on Rough lemon often have a
thick, coarse textured rind.
Rough lemon
rootstock
fact sheet
Advantages
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
Fast growing
Large fruit size
Early maturing
Drought tolerant
High yields
Exocortis tolerant
Tristeza tolerant
Disadvantages
x Phytophthora sensitive
x Poor fruit quality
x Thick rind
x Sensitive to
waterlogging
x Large tree size
Scion compatibility
Highly compatible with lemon varieties, Rough lemon also
has good compatibility with oranges, grapefruit, tangelos
and most mandarin varieties. Incompatible with Ellendale
mandarin. May be incompatible with Satsuma mandarins.
Extent of plantings
The majority of citrus trees planted on Rough lemon are
located in the Riverland of South Australia and are mainly
orange trees greater than thirty years old. Until the late
1990s, most Eureka lemons in Australia were grown on
Rough lemon rootstock. Rough lemon has declined in
popularity over the last thirty years with the introduction
of Troyer, Carrizo and Benton citranges and Swingle
citrumelo.
Overseas experience
Rough lemon was widely used in Florida to produce high
yields for processing, but its use has declined in recent
years due to sensitivity to citrus blight. Rough lemon is
still a popular rootstock choice for lemon growing in
Arizona. It was also widely used in South Africa, but has
recently been overtaken by Swingle citrumelo and Citrus
volkameriana in popularity.
State of knowledge
very
limited
Growers should ensure that trees are
propagated from true to type, disease
free seed and Premium budwood
obtained from Auscitrus.
Last Revised: July 2003
Disclaimer:
Information contained in this publication is provided as general advice only.
For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought.
very
high